What is the worst part about being a service member or veteran?

In the case of myself and many who I have served with in the ARNG it is the "last minute" phone calls because of Mother Nature or some other event that got us activated. At least with my Federal activation for deployment I had a bit of warning but when Mother Nature stops taking her meds those calls can be a nightmare for anyone who's prep work was half assed and their family is left to deal with whatever they didn't get done.

Adjusting to local government and organizations that are more interested in polishing their own apple rather than looking out for each other. The traits and principles we we taught in the military apply in real life and a surprising number of civilians just don't get it. A warning to all active duty; watch your back and help veterans take care of veterans. No one knows better about taking care of veterans than other veterans. Recommend you seek out various service organizations in your neighborhood and participate. They need your help and your assistance is crucial to taking care of veterans in the future.

To be Honest - there is no worst part about a vet or service member - sure there may be some instances where it sucked ( being shot at, being away from family, IED's etc etc) but that is what we volunteered for, we had an informed decision - for the most part - especially the newer servicemembers/vets, we have the overall respect and gratitude of the people we served, we have pride in ourselves, - I looked at every PCS as a new opportunity to experience both other countries culture and norms, and different states culture and norms, got out of the barracks or house and explored and immersed myself into the areas hustle and bustle. So - I would say there is no "worst" part

I am so very grateful to have served. I am who I am, in no small part, because of that twenty years. That being said, I feel like the rift between my three oldest offspring and I began because of the demands of soldiering; there was simply so much time lost with family and of course, you can't get that back. I work in a nonprofit now, and I am very proud of what I do. However, there's a general lack of "moving with a sense of purpose" that gets infuriating at times. I will forever have "Be, Know, Do" wicked in my brain, and I have a lot of trouble tolerating those who don't. So that's a challenge. I'm fifty years old, and broken in a lot of ways, but sometimes I long for the simplicity (and the constant urgency) that made it easy to commentate on the mission and excel.

The worst part about being a veteran isTrying to get timely medical care at a Veterans' Administration hospital.

Worst part was the Mickey Mouse bulls#@t. Best part was the brotherhood.

The worst thing for me was joining the great civilian workforce where no one is in charge and everyone wants everything free and does not want to pay for with service to country. I constantly get the line”
“ you get health care free, don’t you think everyone should? I reply spend 20-30 years in a foxhole if you want my benefits. Civilians have no fricking idea what we have done for the benefits we EARNED.

The only bad thing for me was the 5 years I was gone from my own family due to multiple deployments, I am proud to have served for over 10 years and would have done 30 except for losing both of my legs,, i have kept the ( if you're not here 15 minutes early you are already late) mantra.

I think my biggest shock was how unregimented civilian life can be at times. So many people seem to overestimate their importance when they are really just very minor cogs in the machinery of the civilian world.

Ungrateful neo Marxist college students